The largest gathering of Aston Martin sports cars in history took place at the weekend (26 June) when the Aston Martin Heritage Trust (AMHT) held its highly-anticipated celebration event marking the centenary of the oldest surviving Aston Martin car, ‘A3’.
A grand total of 681 examples of the marque’s sports cars, including hugely rare and genuine one-off creations, made their way to the Dallas Burston Polo Club near Southam, Warwickshire, to honour a major milestone in the history of the great British car maker.
The AMHT’s ambitious celebration showcased highly prized Aston Martin models in a carefully curated timeline leading visitors on a guided tour through fascinating era-themed car parks.
Aside from ‘A3’ itself the displays included prized examples of almost every period of the brand’s proud 108-year history, from pre-war Aston Martin and Lagonda models through numerous Sir David Brown era cars right up to today’s exciting range of sports cars and the DBX SUV.
A V8 showcase covering the period 1968-2000 included Saloon, Volante, Vantage, Lagonda and Virage while other rarities seen on the day included Aston Martin Tickford specials.
From the modern period both Victor, and a Vulcan, graced the event, alongside the brand’s revolutionary hypercar – Valkyrie – while one-off specials such as the V8-engined Cygnet were also on show.
Of course it was ‘A3’ that many of those attending had travelled to see. Aston Martin chassis number 3, known as ‘A3’, is the jewel in the AMHT’s collection and is the oldest surviving Aston Martin.
Built in 1921, this exceptional piece of iconic British automobilia was used by Lionel Martin, co-founder of Bamford & Martin Ltd, manufacturers of the first Aston Martin sports cars, for both personal and competitive use. The car took several light-car records at Brooklands in 1921, including averaging 100 miles at 86.2 mph. Today, ‘A3’ is a regular at AMHT events and toured the world as part of the Aston Martin centenary celebrations in 2013.
Over the last two years, the drivetrain has been completely re-built by the expert team at Ecurie Bertelli in Buckinghamshire in order to keep this historic car on the road.
Commenting on the success of the event, and the record-breaking turnout of Aston Martin owners, AMHT Chairman Rob Smith said: “The centenary of ‘A3’ is a huge occasion for us at the AMHT and, of course, the Aston Martin brand, but even with that context we were stunned by quite how many owners made the journey to our event on Saturday.
“We are delighted that so many owners came to the festival to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of ‘A3’ the turnout and interest has been absolutely fantastic!”
‘A3’ is now on show at its regular home, the Aston Martin Museum at Drayton St Leonard, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire. The museum is open for timed, pre-booked visits and tickets are available online at https://aston-martin-museum.arttickets.org.uk/
The AMHT, a charitable organisation formed in 1998, is dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and sharing the history of this iconic luxury British sports car brand.
